


Legacy

by engineeredstrife



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 10:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/engineeredstrife/pseuds/engineeredstrife
Summary: Where you come from often determines who you are and how you see the world. And sometimes you have to fight really hard to break free of your heritage.





	Legacy

“I heard you’re working on something new.”

The corners of Thea’s lips curled into a smile before she put down the tool she held in her hand and turned around to face her visitor. Getting lost in those blue eyes was easy, and now finding the right words to say felt like an impossible task. In the end she cleared her throat and took a small step closer to him.

“What are you doing here? Someone might see you.”

“I’m the king, I go wherever I want to go,” Orm informed her with a charming smile then went over to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “I missed you.” Upon noticing how tense her body was, he ran his fingertips up and down her spine before stopping his hand on her lower back. “Hey, don’t worry, we’re alone.”

Thea let out a long sigh then wrapped her arms around his neck. “Orm, people are already talking. You shouldn’t come here like this,” she told him almost worriedly.

The king laughed as he kissed her forehead. “I don’t care about what people say about this thing between us. You know, that’s why I’m here, actually. Have you thought about moving into the royal palace?”

“Yes, I have,” she replied right away. “And my answer is no. I don’t belong there, I’m not a high born.”

For long seconds they both remained silent. The only sound was Orm’s groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “You’re a high born,” he pointed out as he looked at her again.

“No, I’m not. I’m just the by-product of the affair my high born father had with my mother,” Thea explained while she ran a hand through her light brown hair. “If anyone ever asked him about me, he would deny that I’m his daughter without thinking.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he noted with a secretive smile. When he saw her questioning look, the king folded his arms behind his back, looking very pleased with himself. “I gave him a visit today.”

Her entire body froze upon hearing this. Was he serious? No, he couldn’t be. It was insane. “This is some sick joke, right?” she demanded angrily.

Orm was taken aback by her reaction and instinctively took a step away from her. “I… Well, I wanted to talk to him about this situation. He will officially accept you as his legitimate daughter,” he explained. “Once it happens, no one can say a word about us and you can move to the royal palace with me.”

“No, no, no, you have to go back and tell him you changed your mind,” she told the king, almost begging him to do this for her. “Forcing him to do this will only make things worse, Orm, and I thought I finally got rid of this problem.”

His eyes narrowed as he took a good look at Thea. She was genuinely terrified and he had no idea why she felt that way. He assumed that once this situation was cleared they could have a normal life with a normal relationship. Letting out a sigh, he reached for her hand then intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Tell me about this _problem_ you mentioned,” he asked her quietly. “What does it have to do with this?”

Silence followed the king’s words as Thea weighed her options. If she told him the truth, there was a great chance he would overreact. To prevent this from happening, she decided to lie. “When I was younger, I wanted to know more about my father so I went to see him without my mother knowing anything about it. Of course he told me the rumors about me being his daughter weren’t true. He doesn’t even want to know about me so I promised to forget about it.”

“You’re hiding something from me,” Orm stated without hesitation. “Thea, please, tell me what’s going on.” When she put up her hands and shook her head, he decided to move on to another tactic. “If you make me ask you again, I’ll have to force the answer out of you.”

“Is this a threat? Are you seriously planning to pull the ‘ _I’m your king_ ’ card?” she asked with a desperate laugh.

“You don’t really give me much choice, sweetheart,” he pointed out.

Thea thought for a few seconds but let out a sigh of defeat eventually. “The part about me visiting him was true. But he never denied that I’m his daughter. In fact he,” she began quietly, stopping for a moment before going on, “told me it would be the best for me and my mom to forget about this and deny our… connection when asked.”

“Or what?”

“Who knows? Something might happen to us,” she replied with a shrug, her grey eyes locked with his. “This is why you have to go back and tell him you changed your mind. And he needs to know that I didn’t want this. I promised to stay away from his life and that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”

He knew her well enough to see that she was truly afraid of what could happen to her. Of course she tried to make it look like she was just a little nervous, but Orm knew it was more than that. With a sigh he stepped forward, cupping her face with his hands. “I’ll protect you both, okay?”

“No, I don’t need your protection, Orm. I need you to tell him I had nothing to do with this idea of yours and that you changed your mind,” she explained as her fingers curled around his forearms. “If you have any feelings for me, you’ll do this.”

Orm’s mouth fell open from surprise when he heard the last sentence. “If I have any feelings for you?” he repeated slowly. “How can you say something like this? Thea, I love you and this is why I’m trying so hard to find a way we can be together without facing a scandal. You said you didn’t want any drama so I’m working on it accordingly.”

The young woman was at a loss of words. “Wait, you… Did you say you loved me?”

“This wasn’t the first time I said that, don’t be surprised” he replied with a disarming smile.

“Trust me, I would remember if you did,” Thea pointed out with a laugh, the strange mixture of fear and anger now replaced by a warn feeling. “It’s such a cliché, though. The king being in love with someone who’s pretty far from his social circle.”

Instead of answering, Orm leaned forward and kissed her softly, a smile still lingering on his lips. “I couldn’t care less about whether or not you’re officially a high born,” he assured her. “And if that’s what you really want, I’ll talk to your father.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

He began to massage her cheeks with his thumbs as he kissed her forehead. “Can you spend the night with me?” After she nodded, he let go of her and took a few steps back. “See you at the same place at the same time then. I assume you have a prototype to work on now anyway,” he added, pointing at the desk behind her.

“Yes, I have,” Thea admitted with a small smile which faded away when she let out a long, troubled sigh. “Please, take care of this whole mess as soon as you can.”

“I will,” he promised once again before he turned around to walk towards the door. Just as he raised his hand to open it, Orm briefly glanced back at her. “See you later, sweetheart.”

Once the door closed behind him, Thea let out a quiet chuckle and returned her attention to the newest weapon’s prototype. No matter how hard she tried to focus, though, her thoughts kept returning to Orm. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the king himself was so interested in her, even though this little affair could seriously damage his reputation.


End file.
